INVISIBLE SCARS PROJECT

The Invisible Scars Project is led by Linwood Bragan, Don Malin, and John Reitzell. If you would like to know more about the Invisible Scars Project, you can contact them directly by email addresses below.

MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Linwood Bragan, serves as the Executive Director of the Inivisble Scars Project. Linwood brings a wealth of experience to his position at Crosswinds; particularly as he heads up our subsidiary - CapStand Council for Policy and Ethics.On the national level, that experience includes being an Attorney, who operated his own independent consulting service based in Alexandria Virginia, and serving on Capitol Hill as the Counsel and Legislative Assistant to Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri's 2nd District. Linwood also knows his way around State and local government. Prior to his work in Washington, he served as Assistant Attorney General - Associate Counsel for the Alabama State BankingDepartment and on Gov. Bob Riley's staff.

Lt. Col, Malin, US Army (Ret.) serves as our Director of Veteran Services and the Executive Director of CrossSwords Connection, our outreach to military service members. Don has over thirty years of military service including serving as a military Chaplain with the Army National Guard for more than twenty years. During that time he served two tours of duty in the Middle East. In 2012, he was selected to serve as the Mississippi National Guard Chaplain, the State's highest Chaplain appointment. His experiences serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have provided him firsthand knowledge of the challenges and cost to our military personnel serving in combat duty. Perhaps, more importantly, it has given Don an understanding of the difficult struggles so many of our service men and women face after returning home.

Col. John Reitzell, US Army (Ret) serves as our Director of Field Operations helping to connect fellow veterans in reaching out to one another to fight Post-Traumatic Stress and Moral Injury. John graduated from Northeast La. State College as a Distinguished Military Graduate in 1969 and was commissioned a 2Lt in the Infantry. He has served our nation in many capacities, including: a reconnaissance platoon leader in the 82d Airborne, rifle platoon leader (Vietnam), Long Range Recon (Ranger) Company Leader, Ranger Instructor, various staff and command positions in the 2d Armored Division including Aide-de-Camp to MG George S. Patton, the US Air Force Academy where he skippered the Air Force Parachute Team to the 1979 National Championship. Following that, John served a long classified assignment in the newly formed Joint Special Operations Command (JAYSOCK) at Ft. Bragg, N.C. where he was deployed on multiple “real world” operations in support of the Nation’s counter-terrorism program. From 1984-1987 he was selected to be the Defense Department’s leader for the Reagan Administration’s Worldwide Crisis Response Team. Terrorist Incidents some now unclassified, such as the hijack of TWA 847, Pan Am 63, and the seizing of the Italian Cruise Liner Achille Lauro are examples of these deployments. After commanding two Infantry battalions, John assumed duties as Chief of Current Operations US Special Operations Command in Tampa. Responsibility for the operations of Special Forces, Navy Seals and other classified special operations forces in over 200 countries was rewarded by selection for Brigade Command in 1993 and in 1995, Col. Reitzell was selected to be the Chief of Staff at the US Army’s Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Ga where he served until his retirement. As someone who has served in combat, led others into combat, and developed strategic plans that would send those serving under him into difficult combat situations, Col. Reitzell understands the traumas that can be caused by war.